NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE) Short Interest Update

NIKE, Inc. (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 44,580,000 shares, a growth of 21.9% from the March 15th total of 36,570,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 17,850,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 3.8% of the company's shares are sold short.

NIKE Trading Up 1.2 %

NKE stock traded up $0.67 during trading on Thursday, hitting $58.06. 2,688,161 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 14,269,460. The company has a 50-day moving average of $67.44 and a 200-day moving average of $73.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.22. NIKE has a 1 year low of $52.28 and a 1 year high of $98.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.88 billion, a PE ratio of 17.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 1.15.

NIKE (NYSE:NKE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 20th. The footwear maker reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.26. The firm had revenue of $11.27 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $11.02 billion. NIKE had a net margin of 9.98% and a return on equity of 36.99%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. Analysts predict that NIKE will post 2.05 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NIKE Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.40 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.76%. NIKE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Mark G. Parker sold 169,732 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.83, for a total value of $12,361,581.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 896,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,301,708.56. The trade was a 15.92 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Robert Holmes Swan purchased 8,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.46 per share, for a total transaction of $502,756.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 31,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,869,726.18. This trade represents a 36.78 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On NIKE

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Caitlin John LLC lifted its holdings in NIKE by 117.0% in the fourth quarter. Caitlin John LLC now owns 371 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of NIKE in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of NIKE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA grew its stake in NIKE by 110.5% in the fourth quarter. LFA Lugano Financial Advisors SA now owns 400 shares of the footwear maker's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in NIKE in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Institutional investors own 64.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on NIKE from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 21st. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of NIKE from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of NIKE from $88.00 to $72.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Dbs Bank upgraded shares of NIKE from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Berenberg Bank started coverage on NIKE in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. They set a "hold" rating and a $58.00 price target for the company. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NIKE presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.19.

NIKE Company Profile

NIKE, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, develops, markets, and sells athletic footwear, apparel, equipment, accessories, and services worldwide. The company provides athletic and casual footwear, apparel, and accessories under the Jumpman trademark; and casual sneakers, apparel, and accessories under the Converse, Chuck Taylor, All Star, One Star, Star Chevron, and Jack Purcell trademarks.